Retired Franklin County judge accused of misappropriating $65,000 could lose law license

A retired Franklin County judge could lose his law license after a complaint accused him of misappropriating more than $65,000 from a judicial association where he once served as treasurer.

The complaint filed with the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct involves former Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Michael Brandt , who retired in 2018 due to a statutory age limit imposed by the Ohio legislature.

Brandt, now 81, served as treasurer of the Association of Municipal and County Judges of Ohio between 2006 and 2022, according to the complaint. Part of his duties included overseeing the collection of $150 dues from about 250 sitting judges in Ohio.

Following his retirement from Franklin County Municipal Court, Brandt worked as a retired assigned judge, assisting other counties as needed around the state.

The complaint says Brandt did not use any bookkeeping or money-tracking software. Instead, he relied on handwritten notes and ledgers.

Between January and December 2021, Brandt documented more than $35,000 in withdrawals from the association's three bank accounts. The withdrawals were made at ATMs, through online transfers and through checks Brandt wrote to himself, the complaint says.

He used more than $16,800 of that money for home repairs at a house Brandt owned in West Virginia, as well as his home in Grove City, according to the complaint.

In November 2022, the association's accountant informed Brandt that the withdrawals had created a deficit for the 2021 tax year and that a $2,000 check Brandt wrote to himself was not documented.

The complaint says Brandt informed the association's president and resigned later that month. On the same day he resigned, Brandt provided checks for the money used for home repairs along with an additional $17,000.

The association's president conducted an audit beginning in 2022 and dating back to 2014, which found that Brandt misappropriated more than $65,400 during that eight-year time span, the complaint says. Brandt and the association agreed to settle the dispute, with Brandt paying an additional $25,000 back to the association in October 2023.

Brandt's law license has been listed as registered as inactive by the Ohio Supreme Court since 2023.

Though retired and inactive, the Board of Professional Conduct could recommend that Brandt be suspended from practicing law or revoke his law license if it determines that the allegations against Brandt are true.

Brandt has not responded to the complaint.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Retired Franklin County judge accused of misappropriating $65,000 could lose law license